Obstacle Course in PS/SS (was: Confusion about the TT. DD knows everything)

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 124136


>>SSSusan:
<snip>
>But my notion, in contrast to Betsy's, is that DD *did* set this 
whole "obstacle course" up for Harry [and let's say possibly for 
Hermione/Ron].  Why do I think this?  
>First, I think the fact that the tasks were all solvable by three 
FIRST-YEAR Hogwarts students -- two of whom have just found out 
they're witch/wizard -- implies that they weren't all *that* 
difficult.  I believe this was intentional on DD's part.  [Wait--stay 
with me here!]
>Second, the *reason* I think DD set up these tasks was to test 
Harry's mettle, to find out about Harry -- what kind of kid is he? 
how brave? how resourceful? how committed to helping others?
<snip>
>I think DD wants to find out just how much Harry can handle.  And I 
think he was THRILLED with what he discovered.
>Think about it.  DD had a perfect set-up to do this.  EVEN if the 
initial obstacles were "easy" to get past, there was that final 
obstacle DD set up -- the Mirror of Erised.  DD knew Harry had 
encountered it, knew what it did & how it worked.  He also knew that 
if a bad guy got to the mirror, he WOULDN'T be able to get past it.
>Why?  Because that person would want to USE the stone for his own 
purposes.  Whereas, assuming Harry got that far, DD was hoping that 
Harry *would* be able to get the stone precisely because he WOULDN'T 
want to use it [for himself]; he'd just want to stop the bad guy from 
getting it [which isn't "using" it in my book].<

Betsy:
But this is where the "Dumbledore set it up" theory starts to fall 
apart, IMO.  Because without Harry being there, Quirrell had *no* 
chance at getting to the Stone.  There was no way he could have 
pulled it from the mirror, so the Stone was never at risk of being 
stolen.  HOWEVER, throw Harry into the mix, and suddenly Quirrell 
*can* get the Stone.  By using Harry, the Stone is out of the mirror 
and in the pocket of a first year and well within Quirrell's grasp.  
Which, to my mind, is a serious hole in the plan.

>>SSSusan:
>It's really a nifty little plan of DD's.  Find out about Harry's 
nature, his inclinations, his skills & talents, his resourcefulness.  
But build in that ingenious protection at the end which would prevent 
the evil guy from getting the stone even if Harry doesn't get through 
it all.<

Betsy:
But again, Harry's very presence does away with the protective 
measure of the mirror.  The Stone is suddenly accessable where before 
it was impossible to reach.  The risk is too great, IMO, to justify a 
simple test of character set-up.  And two students very nearly died 
within the obstacle course.  Ron was hit hard enough by the White 
Queen to get knocked out, and Harry was left in a three day coma.  
Compared to other adventures Dumbledore either sets in motion or 
winks at, this one seems awfully inexcusable.

>>SSSusan:
>The only thing I truly believe DD didn't count on was being called 
away as part of a ruse.  I do believe [well, I want to believe!] that 
DD wouldn't have left Harry so *totally* on his own on purpose.  
Rather, I think he planned to be handy, to help out if Harry needed 
it, and I do think he was truly shaken by how close he came to NOT 
being handy.<

Betsy:
And this points to another hole, IMO, because *if* Dumbledore had set 
this up as a test for Harry and co., I can't imagine McGonagall not 
being informed, nor can I imagine Dumbledore leaving for an overnight 
trip with only a few days left to the term and Harry still not 
through the obstacle course. 

>>SSSusan: 
>But I think he was *very* pleased with what he found out about Harry!
< 

Betsy:
This part I do agree with, Dumbledore was quite pleased, but in an 
after the fact, cold sweats and nervous knees finally gone, kind of 
way.  Harry nearly died.  I can't see Dumbledore taking that big a 
risk.  He's not that crazy.

I think the test, or extra lesson thing that Dumbledore did in 
Harry's first year was Norbert.  I cannot imagine that Dumbledore 
would have missed Hagrid having a baby dragon on premises.  The book 
tells us that, "Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties 
because the dragon was keeping him so busy." (PS paperback p. 236)  I 
doubt Dumbledore would have missed Hagrid not doing his job.  I think 
he stepped back to allow Harry a chance to handle it, and did not 
step in when so many points were lost, because that was part of the 
learning experience.  Was Harry willing to take a hit to help a 
friend?  It's still a pretty big task for a first year to handle, but 
it doesn't risk anyone's life.

In your other post, SSSusan, you pointed out that no one knew about 
Voldemort being attached to Quirrell's head, and you're right.  To 
clarify what I meant, I'm sure that Dumbledore and co. suspected that 
whoever was after the Stone was an agent of Voldemort's.  So if 
Dumbledore had set up the obstacle course with Harry in mind, he knew 
he'd be sending a first year in to take on a Death Eater strong 
enough to break into Gringotts.  Again - the risk, even without 
Voldemort's direct involvment (which I agree was a surprise for 
everyone), would have been massive.

Betsy, who hopes she didn't oversnip SSSusan's post!